When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And to not bring us to the time of trial."

So that’s how it’s done, the disciples nod solemnly. That’s how to pray.

As Luke tells the story Jesus can see how serious they are, how very serious.

So Jesus tells them a story about prayer.

Suppose your friend comes to visit unexpectedly, late at night. Your friend has been out on the road all day and half the night with nothing to eat, so what are you going to do? You’re going to put something on the table for your friend. Isn’t that what friends are for?

The disciples nod their heads.

However, there’s a problem. You don’t have anything in the house to eat, Jesus says. The refrigerator is empty, the pantry is bare. What are you going to do?

You go to another friend next door. Next door is your typical first century Palestinian friend bedded down in his typical first century Palestinian home. It has one room—Mom, Dad, all six children, half a dozen chickens, the dog and goat all sleep in the same room—that’s the way it was if you lived like most people lived. If you were wealthier, you had a spare bedroom for the goat.

You come pounding on the door asking for bread.

What’s your friend going to do? He’s going to give you some bread, isn’t he? If he won’t give you bread just because you’re good friends, he’ll give you bread just because you keep pounding on the door. You’ll wake up the dog and if that happens everyone is finished sleeping for the night!

It’s a funny story that Jesus tells, intended to be funny.

We, of course, insist upon being very serious. Biblical commentators one after another, write with solemnity about this parable.

Good grief, Jesus says, can’t you take a joke? Do you know anything at all about friendship? That’s what most of prayer is about: having a friend.

Do you know what it is to have a friend? What that’s like? Someone you can enjoy being with? Someone you can talk to? Someone you can be silent with? No need to fill the silence with words. Someone who can share your hopes, your dreams, your fears?

Isn’t that the way it is with a friend? With a friend, you feel authentic, more yourself. You feel better about yourself. More alive, stronger. You remember who you really are. Alone you forget so many things and so many things confuse you and cause you to lose your way. With a friend you remember who you are and why you are and where you’re going and why your life matters. Being with friends reminds you of things like that.

You know about having a friend. You’ve probably started a conversation saying, "I don’t know anyone else I can talk to about this, but…."

Could prayer be like that?

Have you ever started or ended the conversation saying, "You know, I really don’t have anything much to say, I just wanted to be with you."

But "with you" means everything. Could prayer be like that?

To people who want to take prayer seriously, Jesus tells an outrageous story suggesting that to take prayer seriously may be not to take prayer so seriously. People who approach prayer with utter solemnity may suppose that God must be approached with precise strategies and special words. Not so, says Jesus.

Suppose you had a friend come pounding at your door at midnight. What would you do? It is just that easy. That effortless. That beautiful. That graceful. That full of joy and gentle laughter.